Guardians of the Galaxy Rules!

Yes, I must say that Guardians of the Galaxy is a summer great and arguably the best one out. I really enjoy the story, the action, and the effects. I can never count myself as one of the longtime fans of the comic, neither have I ever owned an issue, but I those who are could say it met all expectations for something that went from print to the big screen.

Something that really grabbed me about the Guardians story is it tells of misfits who came together and did something great in saving the galaxy from evil. Starlord (Chris Pratt), a happa alien human kid growing up in1980s but taken from earth to some distant galaxy to be raised as a thief. His solace is the ever so awesome mix tape given to him by his mother. Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a female assassin working for the story’s nemesis Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Gamora seeks to find a way to get out of the business and make up for all the wrongs done in the past. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), the byproduct of some crazy genetic experiment, he is brilliant, and innovative, yet uncouth with a short fused temper. Groot (Vin Diesel), a walking tree like being, with a child like character, a vocabulary limited to “I am Groot,” but one to never mess with because he can make a stone cold crazy killer cry like a baby. Then there is Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a prison inmate who wants to avenge his lost family. He first tries to exact revenge in attempting to kill Gamora for her association with Ronan, but decides to collaborate with Gamora for a chance to kill Ronan.

The Guardians must battle against Ronan for the possession of the infinity stone, which allows its wielder insurmountable power to destroy all opponents. The problem is that the Guardians are a volatile mixture of personalities that are constantly fighting with each other. Somehow they do pull things together and save the galaxy. The cost of Guardian’s victory against Ronan is the sacrifice of Groot, who gives his own life so the others could live, albeit he returns to life as a little sprout. Here something insignificant becomes significant.

The very story of the misfit turning up at the most desperate hour to save the day is a radical and audacious idea that it resonates well with all. Where would such an idea come from?

I believe the notion would come from the God saves the lost. They were never really the cream of the crop, but God loved them enough to redeem them from the trash heap. Is this not the same idea that Paul had in mind when he wrote, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27, ESV). I think the quintessential example of the misfit who came to save the day is Christ. He was born in relative obscurity, in a town called Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, a place where Jews wondered whether or not anything good could come from there (John. 1:46), He died the death of a criminal, but He rose again the third day, and it is through His death and resurrection that the lost could be saved.

My understanding is that Guardians is a secular production; yet, there is a Christ parallel with motifs like self-sacrifice and the significance of the insignificant, and the parallel is rooted in a God shaped vacuum within the heart which yearns for these things to be true.

~ WGN